But Obama’s primary message was one of certainty. “Of all the foreign policy issues that I’ve addressed since I’ve been president,” he said, “I’ve never been more certain that this is sound policy, that it’s the right thing to do for the United States, that it’s the right thing to do for our allies.” In terms of decisions I make, I do think that I have a better sense of how military action can result in unintended consequences. And I am confirmed in my belief that much of the time, we are making judgments based on percentages, and no decision we make in foreign policy — or for that matter, any policy — is completely without hair on it, which is how we kind of describe it. I mean, there are always going to be some complications. But that’s why, when I say that this to me is not a close call, I say that based on having made a lot of tough calls. So if you look at Libya, I was deeply concerned about what would happen after [Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi was gone.

I was deeply concerned about the ability of some of our European partners who were forward-leaning on that issue to sustain their efforts. We organized the campaign in such a way that I could guarantee they had to step up, and it wasn’t just riding on our coattails to get it done, and that there was broad international support. And to this day, I would say that, had we not gone after Gadhafi, you’d have some version of what happened in Syria in Libya, because he had already lost control of big chunks of the country. But even factoring all that stuff in, Libya is still a mess right now. And so maybe at the same time as I’m more confident today, I’m also more humble. And that’s part of the reason why when I see a situation like this one, where we can achieve an objective with a unified world behind us, and we preserve our hedge against it not working out, I think it would be foolish — even tragic — for us to pass up on that opportunity.

President Barack Obama addresses a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform inside a hangar at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama confers with Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., right, regarding a statement on Iraq and the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, in Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., August 14, 2014. Anita Breckenridge, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, stands in the background at left. Photo by Pete Souza

Members of the audience listen as President Barack Obama addresses a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform inside a hangar at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza

A young girl in the audience as President Barack Obama addresses a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform inside a hangar at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama points to a questioner during a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform inside a hangar at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Samantha Appleton

President Barack Obama works a rope line following after his town hall on health care insurance reform inside a hangar at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama meets with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer following a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform in Belgrade, Montana, on Aug. 14, 2009. Photo by Pete Souza

First Lady Michelle Obama and actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Kerry Washington are sitting in the Blue Room at the White House. This trio of female forces, who know one another through their work on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, aren’t here just to catch up on life. They’re here today to spread a crucial message: This Memorial Day, America’s servicewomen, veterans, and military wives—courageous women—need our help. Over a decade ago, during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, our servicemen and -women were constantly in the public eye, in newspapers, music videos, car commercials. Today, most of the more than 2.5 million men and women who deployed are home safe—but they deserve just as much attention as when they were braving IEDs and insurgents.

During this reentry period, advocates point out, many veterans face hardships (from homelessness and unemployment to post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of sexual trauma), and we can’t underestimate the support they need. MO: One thing I want to clarify—that every service member, veteran, wants us to remember—is that the vast majority of people returning from service come back completely healthy…. But when we do come across someone who is struggling…we have to develop a culture of open arms and acceptance so that they feel comfortable saying, “I’m a veteran. And by the way, I need little help.” Think about the amount of training the average veteran has received through the military—physical training, project management training, public relations work. Think of an average tour of duty in a foreign land, the money we put into developing that, and then they’re discharged, and what, we let that investment go? Absolutely not. These are some of the best-trained people in our society.

I have no idea how much Starbucks pays their employees, but can you imagine having a job where you have to engage customers in conversations about race? You work two jobs just to keep a roof over your head and some billionaire with nothing to do sends down a fucking edict from on high forcing you to talk about something that he or she doesn’t have to worry about, let alone talk about.

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@washingtonpost “There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy, hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.”

No one knows who shot those cops, all we have is speculation and attempts to deflect blame from the epidemic of cops killing unarmed Black males. The “tension” between cops and minority communities is a decades old problem (police as occupying force instead of public servants). The recent spike in police killings of unarmed Black males is a symptom of the larger issue of White racial anxiety which is reaching dangerous levels. The cop in Atlanta who murdered the unarmed, naked veteran who had mental problems should open up a lot of eyes to what is going on, i.e., Black lives don’t matter to these folks. Being Black is becoming a capital offense in this country. How the response to an obviously mental ill naked man is to use deadly force (not a baton, not a taser, not calling for backup) tells me that they are looking for an excuse to murder Black people (more restrain is shown toward a fucking alligator walking through a golf course than a Black man walking down the street). By the “logic” displayed by the Atlanta cop, the proper police response to a Black man threatening to jump from a rooftop would be to call in the snipers to shoot the man. There will never be any semblance of “equality” in this country until a Black life is deemed by society to be of equal value to a White life. This has never been the case in this country and it most certainly is not the case today. All of this racial shit stems from the mental gymnastics that the institution of slavery required of a White society that had/has an almost pathological need to see itself as “good people” no matter what horrible shit they did. You cannot enslave folks you view as your equals. You cannot enslave a race of people you view as human and still see yourself as “good person”. Instead, to maintain a positive self image, the slaveholder has to convince both himself (and the slave) that the slave is “inferior” and DESERVES the horrible treatment he/she is forced to endure. That the slave is not HUMAN. This inability to see Black people as fellow human beings, the inability to understand the grief of a Black parent mourning for a child needlessly killed by the police is the same strain of racist/White supremacy that allowed for the enslavement of Black people in the “land of the free”.

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I was startled to learn this week that rap music causes racism. I had no idea so many grandparents were into hip-hop.

President Barack Obama speaks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building about the progress made to date and further action to take on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

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President Barack Obama applauds medical professionals and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, Assistant U.S. Surgeon General who serves as the overall Public Health Service (PHS) Commander of Commissioned Corps Ebola Response in West Africa

U.S. medical professionals who survived the Ebola virus including Dr. Kent Brantly (L) and nurse Nina Pham (3rd L) attend remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama about the progress made to date in the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

President Barack Obama announces he has sent Congress an authorization for the use of military force against ISIL, with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. President Obama wants Congress to authorize a three-year military campaign against ISIL, that would continue the use of air power and could include limited ground operations by American forces to hunt down enemy leaders or rescue American personnel